Destiny Pharma Announces Agreement with NIAID to Evaluate a Novel XF-73 Formulation in Skin Wound Infection

Destiny Pharma Announces Agreement with NIAID to Evaluate a Novel XF-73 Formulation in Skin Wound Infection

Brighton, United Kingdom, 15 March 2021 – Destiny Pharma plc (AIM: DEST), a clinical stage innovative biotechnology company focused on the development of novel medicines that can prevent life threatening infections, announces it has entered into a Non-Clinical Evaluation Agreement (NCEA) with the US government’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health, to evaluate the preclinical safety of a dermal formulation of XF-73. Under NIAID’s suite of preclinical services, NIAID-funded contractors will conduct these clinically enabling safety studies.

Destiny Pharma is developing a novel formulation of XF-73 for the prevention of infection associated with open wounds and broken skin. This programme has previously demonstrated positive results across a range of preclinical efficacy studies and two Phase 1 dermal irritancy trials.

Destiny Pharma will utilize NIAID’s preclinical services programme to complete the preclinical safety studies that will support the planned clinical development in serious wound infections. Destiny Pharma will provide the XF-73 formulation to be tested in these preclinical studies and the project is planned to complete in 2022.

Neil Clark, CEO of Destiny Pharma, said: “We are very pleased to be working with NIAID again on another XF-73 project to build on the existing data that supports its potential as a novel product to prevent and/or treat serious dermal infections, including those associated with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and burn wounds. This study will enable us to finalise the selection of our dermal indication. XF-73 is also in clinical development as a nasal gel formulation for the prevention of post-surgical infections and is on plan to report results from a Phase 2b study at the end of this month.”

XF-73 is a first-in-class drug candidate from Destiny Pharma’s XF platform, initially being developed for the prevention of postsurgical staphylococcal infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which cause significant complications and increased healthcare costs in the hospital setting. The Company is expecting to announce data from its recently completed Phase 2b clinical study testing the XF-73 nasal gel as a novel product for the prevention of post-surgical infections by the end of March 2021. It has been awarded both qualifying infectious disease product (QIDP) and Fast Track status by the US FDA. XF-73 also has potential as a treatment in a range of dermal indications and is being examined in established research collaborations and in this new agreement with NIAID. Destiny Pharma has also invested in a programme of work to identify formulations tailored to the dermal infection market.

For further information, please contact:

Destiny Pharma plc

Neil Clark, CEO

Shaun Claydon, CFO

pressoffice@destinypharma.com

+44 (0)1273 704 440